Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: To establish the proportion of patients locally with potentially significant thyroid pathology not receiving specialist endocrine input. To look at the management of hyperthyroid patients within the Endocrinology service.Patients and methods: Utilising the laboratory database, 121 patients identified (97 female, 24 male; age range 17–93 years, average 55 years) with TFTs suggesting hyperthyroidism (raised fT4/fT3, and/or suppressed TSH) ...

Introduction: It is standard teaching that thyroid function is associated with mood, in particular hypothyroidism with depression. Recent studies however have provided conflicting data, with community based studies suggesting no relationship, but a study in patients on thyroxine showing an association. There may be biases involved in these studies as in communities with good health care, symptomatic people with mildly abnormal thyroid function are often put on thyroxine and ex...

Objectives: Pregnancy and early infancy are periods when increased demand for thyroid hormone can result in subclinical hypothyroidism (SH). SH is frequently a prodrome to autoimmunity, but may be a compensation mechanism for an underlying genetic defect. The W546X mutation of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is present at a frequency of 1 in 180 in a Caucasian population. We aimed to investigate whether W546X was the cause of SH presenting in pregnancy and early infancy.<p...

GH has diverse direct effects including the induction of lipolysis in adipocytes and mineralisation in bone. Interestingly, pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells can be isolated and cultured from adult bone marrow and induced to differentiate in vitro to both adipocytes and osteoblasts. GHR activation can be coupled to JAK2/STAT5 and the ERK (MAPK) pathway. We have therefore studied the evolution of GHR-associated cell signalling in adult rat BMSC’s during differentia...

Osteoporosis and associated fractures are the most common and debilitating complication of glucocorticoid use. The use of alternative anti-inflammatory agents without the catabolic and deleterious skeletal side-effects of glucocorticoids is needed. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) may have immunomodulatory as well as positive effects on bone. To further our understanding of the mechanisms of action of DHEA, as a steroid-sparing agent, we investigated and compared the effects of D...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) play a fundamental role in the endocrinology of pregnancy but excess GC in utero may lead to IUGR. Protection against fetal exposure to GCs is provided by the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (11beta-HSD2) located in the placental trophoblast. By contrast, relatively little is known concerning the function of GC-activating 11beta-HSD1 which is expressed within maternal decidua. We have used human deciduas (n=32 first, n=10 second and n=...

PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder of premenopausal women. The in utero testosterone-treated ewe shares several key features with PCOS women (sub/infertility, multi-follicular ovaries, hypersecretion of gondotrophins and androgens) and, therefore, may be a useful animal model for this condition. In addition to reproductive abnormalities, PCOS women are at increased risk of hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to determine if similar metab...

Recently, evidence has emerged that active 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D3) is involved in modulating the immune response. Additionally, vitamin D3 insufficiency has been proposed as a predisposing factor for autoimmune diseases, which correlate with circulating inactive 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25D3). Substrate 25D3 is converted to 1,25D3 by the activating enzyme 1alpha-hydroxylase. We and others have p...

We have previously used insulin-secreting MIN6 cells configured into islet-like structures (pseudoislets) to demonstrate that homotypic interactions between beta-cells are essential for normal insulin secretory responses. We have now investigated whether homotypic interactions are important in secretion of other pancreatic hormones. Glucagon-secreting alpha-TC1 cells were cultured as adherent monolayers, or as pseudoislets grown on gelatin, and hormone release was measured in ...

Microprolactinomas are the commonest pituitary tumour and respond well to dopamine agonist (DA) therapy with resolution of symptoms and tumour shrinkage occurring in the vast majority of cases. Reports also suggest that up to 20% of cases may achieve long-term normoprolactinaemic remission following withdrawal of chronic dopamine agonist therapy yet interruption of therapy is not universally practised nor is there consensus on the duration of therapy. In this retrospective stu...